It was a warm day in July and three GoodGym volunteers went to help out at a Scout Service Day at Cleeve Hill campsite in Bath. There are a group of regular volunteers who meet there every few weeks to help maintain the campsite and make sure it is safe and tidy. The Scouts in the District of Bath regularly use the space there and other community groups also rent the space out for their own camps too. We ran along to give the volunteers a hand!

Some of us spent the morning saving some trees from some Ivy that had started to take over. By removing a 1 metre section around the trunk we were able to make sure that the whole tree will, soon, be free of the Ivy's embrace!

We also worked with the volunteers there to put up a new fence around the campfire area. We drove some wooden stakes into the ground with a metal 'post-whacker' and used wire to create a fence.

After lunch we put our energy into the mammoth task of cutting up a fallen branch. The branch had fallen down recently but was far too big to be moved in its current state. We used loppers and saws to cut down the smaller branches and then used them to fortify the perimeters of the campfire area. This creates a really cosy woodland environment in the middle of the campsite.

It was really tiring work but we had a really good time and really enjoyed ourselves! We have been asked to come back again on the 18th August and to future events after that.

On a warm Summery Sunday, 3 GoodGym volunteers ran to Cleve Hill campsite in Weston, Bath. The campsite is managed by Bath District Scouts and is used to host Scout camps and is also by other community groups. There are a dedicated group of volunteers, called the Service Crew, who meet every 4-6 weeks to help maintain the campsite. We ran along to lend our skills and enthusiasm!

We spent most of the day weeding and cutting back invasive bushes in the car park. The trees and shrubs have started to make their way onto the gravelled area and we had to get it under control! Our hard work made a huge difference to the state of the banks and we were really happy with how much tidier and controlled we left the area.

After a quick lunch we removed the branches and weeds by the entrance to the campsite. This area had become overgrown and it was starting to obscure the view of the road as drivers pulled out of the campsite. Our work has now made this a lot safer.

At the end of the day, as is custom at a Service Day, we had a huge bonfire to burn everything we had cut down. Afterwards we enjoyed a meal at a local pub to celebrate our hard work.

Thanks to the Service Crew for hosting us, again, and thanks for providing us with some lunch and snacks to keep us going. We shall return!

On a cloudy Sunday in June, four GoodGym volunteers ran to Cleeve Hill Campsite. The campsite is used by Scout groups across the district. The site always needs maintenance so it can continue to benefit young people across Bath and beyond.

Every month a Service Crew meets at the campsite to carry out care and attention on the site and we were joining them for the day. Our main task was to cut back brambles and trees on the edge of the campsite. The area had started to get seriously overgrown, so we hacked, sawed, lopped and pulled to clear the space.

There was some great displays of team work on this task. Some of the trees were particularly big so it required one or two people to pull down on the tree while another person sawed away until we got to yell "TIMBER!".

At the end of the afternoon we gathered all of the debris and had a massive campfire to warm us up.

The Service Crew meet every 4-6 weeks and they are always looking for more volunteers to help them out. If you are interested then see their website , although we are hoping to go back there and have more Community Missions helping them out! See you at the next one!